Wednesday 6 September 2017

Personal development is not something one can buy with money

My stay and experiences in international citizen service Ghana is useful and something big to me as an in-country volunteer.

Fear is something one can overcome if only you have the passion to learn. International Citizen Service a very big phrase to me, when one of my friends last introduced it and ask me to apply.

These were questions I asked myself before embarking on this programme:
How can an SHS graduate still awaiting his results fit into such an organization?
How can I work with people with higher level of education than me?
How can I live with UK volunteers whose culture and beliefs are different from Ghanaian culture?
Will my host family be friendly like my family? 

All this was a learning opportunity to me but the level of fear was so high, while my confidence level was low. In fact leaving home to live with people you've never met is something hard but has a great impact at the end.

The D day came on pre-pcement training day, early in the morning, I came out with my bag and made my way to Radach lodge and conference centre. My mom placed her hand on my shoulder and said my son you can overcome all this fear and build your confidence level if only you have the mind to learn from other people. I nodded my head and turn to look at my brother and my younger sister how I’m going to miss them. I tried to control my movement because I felt a force pulling me back when I tried to move forward. And I realize that all these were symptoms of fear and lack of confidence.

The journey started on a Sunday night, I woke up early thinking about how my project work will be, and then I remembered the writing at the back of my ICS t-shirt telling me to “challenge myself to change my world”


The master brewer is neither the star nor the gods he is you, your very self. The final brewer has no choice: it must be bitter bile or sweet honey. But you have to choose the magic portion which vouchsafes the taste: your intention, your memory, your reaction.

Author
Iddrisu Alhassan Kogbe

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